NoMa Torch Passes to Camden

Another NoMa site is getting ready for an imminent groundbreaking: Camden USA's site at 60 L Street, NE, is nearing construction, with Clark Residential Group now seeking contractors, with bids due March 27th. Camden purchased the lot only in February of last year - the third developer to take ownership of the property within the year's first few months. Now, just over a year later, Camden is bringing that project to fruition. According to sources at Clark, the plan is to be in the ground by the the second quarter.

The project, augmenting NoMa's square footage count by about 682,000 s.f., will squeeze in between NPR's new headquarters at 1111 N. Capitol Street to the west, and Tishman Speyer's dual phase project at 1100 and 1150 First Street to the east. The project will sit close to Archstone's residential and retail building across Pierce Street to the north and Bristol Group's NoMa Station just across 1st street.

Camden will build in two phases, breaking ground first on the south side of the block to construct a 300,000-s.f., 319-unit apartment building with ground floor retail befitting a full-service restaurant and a fast food restaurant. Phase two will add 400,000 s.f. more of residential space, adding roughly 407 residential units to the mix, and roughly doubling the amount of retail space. Camden will also build more than 450 parking spaces in a three-level underground garage.

John Albright, principal at WDG Architecture, described the project: "We decided to design a modern apartment building which would contribute to the emerging modern context of new architecture in the NOMA district. Particular goals were addressing the all-glass office building being built to the east (Tishman Speyer's building) in the same block and maximizing the views in the south facing units. Maximizing the views involves increasing the glass area of the façade and this naturally leads to a more modern expression. The non vision areas of the façade were addressed compositionally as layers which allowed for the largest glass expanse toward the eastern corner adjacent to the all-glass office and becoming less glass, but incorporating bay windows toward the west giving each unit a corner window. The bay window tiers were punctuated with outdoor patios and the fronts angled to provide a variety of unit types and architectural detail on the L Street elevation. The design also includes a high degree of tenant amenity including restaurant, retail, fitness club, landscaped courtyard and roof top pool.”

“Camden is excited to be a part of the revitalization that is occurring in the NoMa neighborhood. With the combination of the large users that have committed to the area including EEOC, ATF, NPR and DOJ along with the other large high-end residential, office and mixed-use developments we feel NoMa will soon be a vibrant 24 hour community. In addition, we feel that Camden NoMa is going to be a great addition to our portfolio in the District. With its modern design and high-end amenities it will be a nice complement to our existing communities that were historic rehabs," announced Ginger Ackiss, Vice President of Real Estate Investments at Camden.

Work on the first phase should be completed in late 2010, the second phase will follow will follow shortly thereafter.